ACT registers rise in handling

Aqaba Container Terminal (ACT), Jordan's sole container terminal, recorded a total container throughput of 674,525 TEUs last year, up 15 per cent year-on-year, a statement said.

This acceleration in growth is attributed to the increase in transit cargo shipped to Iraq and the company's operation at full capacity using advanced and innovative equipment, according to ACT's CEO, Klaus Holm Laursen, the statement said.

The terminal is undergoing expansion, which entails a 460-metre extension to the quay. The construction efforts of the project had started late last year and are expected to take place over several stages, with the final stage slated for completion in 2013.

Upon its completion, the 500,000-square metre facility will have doubled its present wharf length, extending to more than 1000m. With logistics being an important pillar of local commerce, the project will bolster the local economy by increasing the annual container throughput capacity to a projected two million TEUs, it said.

ACT, in collaboration with its mother company, APM Terminals, has extensively invested in the terminal by importing six rubber-tire gantry cranes and additional refrigerated capacity.

Two new ship-to-shore cranes will be commissioned in March this year and together with additional yard equipment this will boost ACT's capacity.

Laursen said a continued growth in containerised cargo trade is expected this year, with the continued development of logistical facilities in the port.

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